It’s Throwback Thursday! It’s also takedowns month here at Aces, so I wanted to show you this technique that UFC fighter and Ultimate Fighter contestant Johnny Bedford showed us about a year ago. Watch the video, and then read on below, because I’m going to elaborate on it. There are two simple rules with takedowns that I want to talk about here. First is head high, back straight, hips in. The tendency for untrained people, and one of the hardest habits for new grapplers to break, is to lean forward and reach with the arms. They do this when they’re going for a double-leg, a single-leg, or even if they’re just grabbing for arms, but it’s a terrible idea, because the second you lean forward, you’re immediately off balance.
But notice that when Johnny does this technique, he maintains his posture the whole time. His head is high, his back is straight, and he’s pushing his hips (and therefore his whole body) into me, which is what traps my arm and keeps it from moving. And this isn’t just for body locks. Your double- and single-leg takedowns are the same. The rate of improvement in your takedowns game is directly proportional to the speed with which you break the habit of leaning forward and replace it with good posture. The second thing I want to talk about is this: Your job is to control your opponent’s hip and then go before he can recover his position. This is true from standing, and it’s true on your knees, too. In this particular takedown, Johnny is stepping around my back leg to go for the body lock, and it’s his pelvis that’s controlling my hip. If we were doing a double leg takedown, he’d be on one knee, but he’d still be coming to my side—not attacking me square on—and then controlling my hip with his chest/shoulder. In the end, it’s basically the same thing. If your partner is facing you, you have to control both hips in order to finish the takedown. If you’re to his side, you only have to have one. And then there’s the second part of that equation … go before he can recover his position! The longer you hesitate, the more opportunity your opponent has to square up, and then you’re back in the situation of having to control two hips again. Johnny doesn’t want that, because he knows his probability goes way down. At speed, the second he gets that body lock he’s immediately going to fold me back over and score his takedown. Try this out for yourself. You’ll notice the more you commit to your takedowns, the better time you’ll have not just finishing them, but landing in a dominant position—the momentum just takes you there. Osss.